My first fasting experience
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:42 am1/4/09
I started today knowing it was going to be a challenge to even compare to yesterday, but I remembered that my motive for fasting was not to see how much I could accomplish, but instead how much I need to remember to rely on God and be obediant to him. I played my guitar this morning before I got ready for church. I am learning more and more each day. This mornings church service was not as informative as usual, but God showed me some pretty amazing things. On the ride to church my mom asked me if I had any money with me and infact I had brought all of the money I had left which was $22.00. She asked me if after church we could use my money to go eat at a resturant. I replied yes and did not think twice about it. While at church it came time for the offering plates to be passed around and I got a strong urge to put money in the offering plate. I thought for one second about what my mom had asked me to do with my money, but decided it would be wise to listen to what God was telling me, so I put all $22.00 in the plate and felt at peace. Later during the sermon, the pastor touched on the subject of tithing, which came as a total suprise to me. It made me smile to know that I had been obediant in giving my money to the Lord. And made me even happier to know that I gave cheerfully. At the end of the service, the pastor was asking his usual questions about "if you dont know Christ, now is a good time to come to know him" and I got another urge. This time it was to kneel at the alter and pray. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone so I didn't listen at first. But then someone had gone to do the same thing I had been told to do. That was enough to give me the courage I should have had in the first place. So I went up and wasnt even sure what to pray for, but I stayed none the less. When I got up I noticed that someone else had been praying at the alter beside me. I relized then that God may have used me to give someone else the courage they needed to take a step of faith and pray before the Lord at that alter. I was again very suprised and thankful that God used ME, he used ME to do his work. How amazing is that! After church came ordinary sunday events. We ended up eating at a resturant anyway and then the usual grocery shopping afterwards. When we finally got home I finished reading my book (Captivating:John and Stasi elderidge). What an amazing book! I played more on my guitar and then asked God what I should do next. I have it in my head that I need to accomplish all these "things". Im not sure if its because I have never fasted or because thats just the American way. But I decided that it was a perfect time to pray. So pray I did. I prayed for a while, it was a long prayer. The rest of the day was sort of blah after that, nothing exciting or eventful went on. I tried as much as I could to keep focused on God. Its not as easy as I thought it would be. Though today was somewhat uneventful I still have much anticipation for the coming days of this amazing walk with the Lord.
I started today knowing it was going to be a challenge to even compare to yesterday, but I remembered that my motive for fasting was not to see how much I could accomplish, but instead how much I need to remember to rely on God and be obediant to him. I played my guitar this morning before I got ready for church. I am learning more and more each day. This mornings church service was not as informative as usual, but God showed me some pretty amazing things. On the ride to church my mom asked me if I had any money with me and infact I had brought all of the money I had left which was $22.00. She asked me if after church we could use my money to go eat at a resturant. I replied yes and did not think twice about it. While at church it came time for the offering plates to be passed around and I got a strong urge to put money in the offering plate. I thought for one second about what my mom had asked me to do with my money, but decided it would be wise to listen to what God was telling me, so I put all $22.00 in the plate and felt at peace. Later during the sermon, the pastor touched on the subject of tithing, which came as a total suprise to me. It made me smile to know that I had been obediant in giving my money to the Lord. And made me even happier to know that I gave cheerfully. At the end of the service, the pastor was asking his usual questions about "if you dont know Christ, now is a good time to come to know him" and I got another urge. This time it was to kneel at the alter and pray. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone so I didn't listen at first. But then someone had gone to do the same thing I had been told to do. That was enough to give me the courage I should have had in the first place. So I went up and wasnt even sure what to pray for, but I stayed none the less. When I got up I noticed that someone else had been praying at the alter beside me. I relized then that God may have used me to give someone else the courage they needed to take a step of faith and pray before the Lord at that alter. I was again very suprised and thankful that God used ME, he used ME to do his work. How amazing is that! After church came ordinary sunday events. We ended up eating at a resturant anyway and then the usual grocery shopping afterwards. When we finally got home I finished reading my book (Captivating:John and Stasi elderidge). What an amazing book! I played more on my guitar and then asked God what I should do next. I have it in my head that I need to accomplish all these "things". Im not sure if its because I have never fasted or because thats just the American way. But I decided that it was a perfect time to pray. So pray I did. I prayed for a while, it was a long prayer. The rest of the day was sort of blah after that, nothing exciting or eventful went on. I tried as much as I could to keep focused on God. Its not as easy as I thought it would be. Though today was somewhat uneventful I still have much anticipation for the coming days of this amazing walk with the Lord.